Electric-lighting system for automobiles.



.I. BUUR.

ELECTRIC LIGHTING SYSTEM FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.26. 19:1.

1,137,831. Patented May 4, 1915.

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS JOSEPH B13 UR, OF NEW WEEK, 1%.

ELECTRIC-LIGHTING SYSTEM F03, AUTGMQBEES. I

answer.

Application filed August 26, 191.1.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH BIJUR, a c1t1- zen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric-Lighting Systems for Automobiles, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact descriptlon, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to electric-llghtrng systems, and with regard to the more specific features, to electric-lighting systems for automobiles and the like.

One-of the objects thereof is to provide a simple and practical system of the above type in which the lamps are used 1n an efficient and economical manner.

Another object is to provide in connectlon with an electric-lighting system for automobiles means whereby the various lights may be operated under varying conditions at the desired degree of brilliancy without subjecting them to injury.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangement of parts WlllCh will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

The accompanying drawing is a diagrammatic plan of one of various possible embodiments of this invention.

As conducive to a clearer understanding of certain features of this invention, it may here be noted that in the use of electric lamps, and particularly those of the incandescent type, a small drop in voltage below that upon which they were designed to run results in a loss of illuminating power which is much greater than in proportion to the voltage deficiency. It may also be noted that a small excess of voltage upon lamps of this type decreases the life of the lamps to a marked degree. Moreover, in certain types of electrical current sources, the voltage drops materially as the load is thrown on. The provision of means where by an eflicient and practical current supply may be used upon an automobile, or in a similar relation, and the lamps manipulated to meet various conditions of use without in- Specification of Letters retest.

Patented. Ma a, rate.

Serial No. 646,191..

jury or loss of eficiency is among the domi nant aims of this invention.

Referring now to the accompanying drawing, there is shown a generator 1 provided with a shunt field winding 2, having serially connected therewith the resistance elements 3 and 4 and having in parallel relation a resistance element 5. The main 6 of the generator leads to a storage-battery 7 and lampcircuits, hereinafter described, and the main 8 passes through a series regulating coil 9 and a compounding coil 10 to the main switch 11, which is of the well known construction. The voltage coil 12 acts in connection with the coil 10 to operate a vibra tory member 13 and the current coil 9 controls a vibratory member 14. These members respectively govern shunt circuits about the resistance elements 3 and 4, and upon either of the corresponding magnets attaining sufiicient field strength, these circuits are broken with a corresponding weakening of the field of the generator.

The system thus far described is that which forms the subject-matter of my copending application, Serial No. 598,532, filed December 21, 1910, and in itself does not constitute an independent feature of this invention, but it may here be noted that the magnet controlling vibrator 13 is so wound and proportioned that it maintains the voltage across the battery substantially unaffected by changes in speed of the generator and tends to decrease the current as the voltage rises, due, for example, to the charging of the battery. The coil 9 guards against overload of the generator by cutting down its voltage upon the current becoming excessive. The drop in voltage of the generator upon the bulk of the load being thrown on varies slightly with conditions, but, for example, with a three-cell battery, it is in the order of one-half a volt. The battery, moreover, although when discharging is of a slightly lower voltage than that of the generator, also experiences a drop upon the bulk of the load being thrown on and the various lamps may be so proportioned that this is in the neighborhood of a half volt.

The rear or tail light 15, preferably serially arranged with a meter light 15, is connected across the mains by a switch 16 and the side lights 17 lie in a separate circuit controlled by switch 18, while the front lights or head lights 19 lie in a third circuit controlled by switch 20, all of these circuits being connected in parallel with each other and with the battery 7. It may here be noted that the term side light is used throughout in a broad sense as denoting any lights auxiliary to the main head light, whether positioned at side of the car or not.

In the practical use of the system the chief demand for light, and consequently the main consumption of current, is in the head lights 19, that consumed by the side and rear lights being relatively insignificant. A leading feature of this invention lies in providing the lights 15 and 17 of a higher voltage than the lights 19. It may here be noted that terms of the nature of higher voltage or lower voltage are used herein as descriptive of lamps with their ordinary well known significance, the voltage of a lamp being the potential difference across its terminals at which it is constructed to be operated. As heretofore noted, the lamps of this nature may be run on lower voltage with a large loss of illuminative power, or ona higher voltage at a cost of short life, but the voltage of a lamp is that at which it Will be reasonably long lived and will give an illumination substantially equal to the candle power of lamps of similar size and type in general use.

The operation of the above-described embodiment of this invention is as follows: If the side and tail lights alone be placed in circuit, there is substantially no load on the generating system or storage-battery and these lights will be run at their full normal voltage as should properly be the case when the front lights are not used. If, on the other hand, the front lights which form the bulk of the load are thrown in circuit, there will be such a drop in potential of the current source that the voltage will be proper for full normal use of these lamps, it being understood that their voltage is about one-half a volt less than that of the smaller lights. If both the front lights and the smaller lights be placed in circuit, there will be this drop to about six and onehalf volts, which is a proper voltage for the front lights as above noted. Under these conditions, the side, tail and meter lights will burn dimly, but this action is not objectionable, but is rather advantageous, as the tail and meter lights are required chiefly to illuminate closely adjacent devices and the side lights are not then called upon to illuminate the road, but only to give a slight degree of light upon the operating mechanism of the car. The head lights are working at their highest efficiency and a waste of current, due to running the remaining lights at their full voltage, is avoided. It may also be noted that the voltage of the generator under full load, with the head lights burning, is not materially greater than that of the battery when it begins to discharge, and hence the cutting in and out 01? the generator causes no appreciable flicker in the lamps.

It will thus be seen that there is here pro; vided apparatus in which the several aims of this invention are achieved, and it will also be seen that certain features of this ap aratu's, although it is'in general particular y designed for automobiles and possesses certain advantages peculiar to such use, are, nevertheless, of value in other relations.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In lighting apparatus, in combination, a source of current susceptible to voltage drop on increase of current output thereof, automobile headlights, automobile side lights of higher voltage than said headlights, and means adapted to connect one or both of said sets of lights with said source of current, the difference between the voltages of said front and side lights being substantially equal to the drop in voltage of said source of current upon said headlights being connected therewith.

2. In lighting apparatus, in combination, a source of current susceptible to voltage drop on increase of current output thereof; a circuit adapted to be connected across said source of current and comprising an automobile headlight, and a second circuit, of higher resistance than said first circuit, adapted to be connected across said source of current in parallel with said first circuit and comprising an automobile sidelight, said headlight being adapted to burn with a substantially normal brilliancy at a pre-determined voltage of said source of current and said second circuit and sidelight being so constituted as to cause said sideli ht to burn at a sub-normal brilliancy at sai voltage of said source of current and at substantlally normal brilliancy at a higher voltage.

3. In lighting apparatus, in combination, a source of current susceptible to voltage drop on increase of current output thereof, a circuit adapted to be connected across said source of current and comprising an automobile headlight, and a second circuit of higher resistance than said first circuit adapted to be connected across said source of current in parallel with said first circuit and comprising an automobile sidelight, said headli ht being adapted to burn with a substantia ly normal brilliancy at a pre-determined voltage of said source of current and said second circuit and sidelight being so constituted as to cause said sidelight to burn at a sub-normal brilliancy at said voltage of said source of current and at substantially normal brilliancy at the increased voltage resulting from the opening of said first circuit.

4. In lighting apparatus, in combination, a source of current susceptible to voltage drop on increase of current output thereof, a light constituted to burn at substantially normal brilliancy at a predetermined voltage; a second light constituted to burn at substantially normal brilliancy at a lowervoltage, said second li ht being of greater current consumption t an said first light,

and means adapted to connect either of said lights across said source of current.

5. In lighting apparatus, in combination,

a generator, means tending to cut down the v0 t age of said generator'upon the current output thereof becoming excessive, a light constituted to burn at substantially normal brilliancy at a redetermined voltage, a second light constituted to burn at substantially normal brilliancy at a lower voltage, said second light being of greater current consumption than said first light, and means adapted to connect either of said lights with said enerator.

6. lighting apparatus, in combination, a circuit comprising an automobile headlight, a circuit comprising an automobile sidelight, a enerator, means tending to cut down the v0 tage of said generator upon the current output thereof becoming excessive, means adapted to connect one or both of said circuits across said generator and voltage regulating means adapted to render the voltage upon said li hts substantially unaffected by changes in t e speed of said generator, saidsecond circuit being of higher resistance than said first circuit and said second circuit and sidelight being so constituted as to cause said sidelight to burn with normal brilliancy at a higher voltage of said generator than that required to cause said headlight to burn with normal brilliancy.

7. In lighting apparatus, in combination, a storage battery, a generator connected to charge saidbattery, a circuit adapted to be connected across said battery and comprising an automobile headlight, a second circuit of higher resistance than said first circuit, adapted to beconnected across said battery in parallel with said first circuit and comprising an automobile sidelight, and means tending to cut down the voltage of said generator upon the current thereof becoming excessive, said headlight being adapted to burn with substantially normal brilliancy at a predetermined voltage of said battery, and said second circuit and sidelight being so constituted as to cause said sidelight to burn at a sub-normal brilliancy at said voltage of said battery and at substantially normal brilliancy at a higher voltage thereof.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH BIJUR. Witnesses;

J. THOMSON, H. WATSON. 

